


Trust Broken

by GigitheGreat



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angry Dipper Pines, Caring Grunkle Stan, Dipper Has Low Self-Esteem, Gen, Gravity Falls AU, Grunkle Ford is a Bit Oblivious, Mabel is a Bit Oblivious, Sad Dipper Pines, Upset Dipper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-10-20 00:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17612315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GigitheGreat/pseuds/GigitheGreat
Summary: Twins were supposed to trust one another no matter what.Dipper trusted Mabel when she made certain decisions, especially ones in dangerous situations.How should Dipper be expected to trust Mabel now that he knows she doesn't trust him through thick and thin?  Not to mention she didn't even give him a chance to impress Great Uncle Ford.AU where Great Uncle Ford takes to Mabel instead of Dipper (DD&MD never happens).





	1. This is Not the Beginning, This is the End

Twins were supposed to trust one another no matter what.

Dipper trusted Mabel when she made certain decisions, especially ones in dangerous situations.  However, it turned out that sentiment was not mutual. The preteen came to realize this as the clock until the _literal end of the world_ kept ticking down and Mabel had still not followed through, even with his shout of “ _HE’S LYING!  SHUT IT DOWN NOW!_ ” cutting his great uncle(?) off.

His hope of survival trickled away with every manipulative word Stan was spewing in order to prevent Mabel from preventing the potential destruction of the world.

The final straw came with the words “Grunkle Stan… I trust you.”

As the blinding white flash of light flooded the lab, Dipper felt part of himself fade along with the rest of the world around him.

* * *

Dipper was beside himself with confusion, anger, and curiosity all bundled into one.  THE _Author_ , the person he has idolized for the entire summer, was related to him all along?  However, Mabel had swooped in and instantly left her impression on his new great uncle Stanford, leaving her brother in the dust.  Dipper supposed he could have been more forward, but what did they want him to do, instantly forget about how he just wanted to prevent the Author from walking through the portal?  Of course he was panicking in the corner.

“-we need to get rid of those agents up there before they pummel us instead. Any ideas in your nerd brain, Poindexter?”  Stan questioned gruffly, still nursing his pulsing jaw.

“Physically fighting them is an ineffective strategy.  If we could somehow disable them without causing harm to ourselves-”

“GREAT UNCLE STANFORD, I HAVE AN IDEA!  Feast your eyes upon… a memory gun!!” Mabel interrupted with a radiant, brace-filled smile on her face.

Ford gently took the memory gun from Mabel’s grasp.  Suddenly, he had an idea:

“Mabel, where did you get one of these?  Actually, no matter- if I can adjust the gun to emit a sound wave with a similar frequency to the one their earpieces are on…”

“...then they’ll forget why they’re here!  Grunkle Stanford, you are a genius!” Mabel gushed.

Blushing, Stanford smiled.  “Please, my girl, do call me Ford.  It’s much easier to use.”

Dipper, still separate from the group, stared on.  Mabel had already bestowed the beloved title of “Grunkle” onto the man who was practically a stranger at that point?  Dipper shrunk into his vest and hat, still hurt by his sister’s actions.

Once Great Uncle Ford had adjusted the memory gun to emit sound waves instead of an actual beam and erased the agents’ memories of himself, the family moved upstairs into the living room.  While Mabel sat next to Ford on the couch, Dipper sat as far away from the strange man as possible, instead taking comfort in being secluded.

“-er, I never did quite catch your name, young man.  It has been quite hectic, after all. What is your name?”  a still-foreign voice asked hesitantly.

Dipper blinked and looked up from staring off into space.  “It’s D-Dipper. I’m s-sorry, I didn’t get to introduce m-myself.”

“Well, in any case, it’s nice to meet you, Dipper,” Ford replied awkwardly.  He looked over at Mabel, who just shrugged. Stan, however, sighed quietly and interrupted before the conversation could develop further.

“Actually, you two gremlins should go to bed.  It’s gettin’ late and me and my brother need to have.. an adult conversation.  Shoo!”

Hesitantly, Dipper and Mabel skittered away and up the stairs they went- Mabel questioning when she would see her new grunkle, and Dipper thinking up questions to ask his idol.  The two made it into their rooms, changed into their pajamas, and jumped in bed.

“Oh my gosh, Dipper!  Isn’t Grunkle Ford sooo cool?” Mabel fangirled.  “He’s exactly how we thought the Author would be~!”

Dipper flipped over onto his side and glanced at his excited sister with a bit of hidden disdain.  “Yeah, he seems to like you. I just made a complete fool of myself!”

“Bah, not true!  He totally likes you more than he likes me.  Even if he doesn’t, your nerdy nerd personalities will make you stick together like glue on a sweater!  Don’t worry, Dip-Dop, there’s always room for second impressions,” Mabel reassured her concerned brother.

“Whatever you say, Mabel.  We’ll see, I guess..” Dipper conceded before flipping over to face the wall.

As Mabel’s breathing slowed and deepened, Dipper huffed out a sigh.   _There is no way he’s ever going to talk to me again.  Why do I have to clam up in front of people I respect!?_

But as Dipper kept thinking about the issue, he came to realize a major factor in how the interaction went.   _Mabel_ wormed her way into his only opportunity to talk to the Author!

_Of course she did, especially after she blatantly went against me when the fate of the world was in her hands.  What else should I have expected? At least now I know I can’t trust anyone. Heck, I shouldn’t even bother talking to Great Uncle Ford, since Mabel already has him wrapped around her little finger._

With clenched hands, he furiously readjusted his blankets and blankly stared at the wall to his right.

* * *

The next day, Dipper heard Mabel shift out of bed.  He felt her eyes fall on him and he feigned sleep. Of _course_ he hadn’t slept- there was too much to contemplate.  Mabel stayed put for a moment before quietly walking out of the attic.  Dipper opened his eyes again, sat up, and stood up and out of bed. He changed into his normal clothes, but after a bit of contemplation, left his hat on the nightstand.  With one last glance at his half of the room, the preteen exited the attic and descended the stairs.

“Good morning, Dippingsauce!”  Mabel greeted him excitedly. She was already eating cereal at the kitchen table with Stan at the head sifting through paperwork in his characteristic wife beater and boxers.  Dipper briefly acknowledged her before moving to pour some cereal for himself and sitting down at the table.

“Oo, look who it is!  Hello, Grunkle Ford! What are you working on?”   Mabel rambled, obviously excited about seeing her new Grunkle again.  Though Stanford looked like he could use a couple gallons of coffee, he gave her a straight answer.

“Well, my girl, I’m working on taking down the portal.”

Dipper abruptly looked up, interested in where the man was going with that information.  However, Ford was only acknowledging Mabel’s questions.

“Oo, cool!  How long do you think it’s gonna take?  I wanted to measure you so I can make you a Mabel’s-Cozy-Sweater-Brand masterpiece!  What do you say?” Mabel invited Ford, clapping excitedly.

“How about in a couple hours?  Once I get to a stopping point in my work- you know what?  Why don’t you come down and help me, Mabel? You definitely seem like a capable individual, especially if you’re familiar with my work-”

“Stanford, what did I say?  I don’t want you riskin’ the safety of the twins!”  Grunkle Stan interrupted with a furrowed brow directed toward his brother.

“Trust me, Stan, she’ll be safe!  I won’t let her near any risky sites,” Stanford persuaded.  “It’ll be a learning experience for her.”

With a glance over at Dipper, who was staring forlornly into his bowl of cereal, Stan conceded.  “Fine, but if any harm comes to either twin, you’ll be talkin’ to my fist.”

Dipper stared as Mabel jumped out of her seat and followed their great uncle Ford into the basement of the Shack in the excited rush she tended to have when something cool was happening.  Stan watched Dipper sadly as the preteen quickly finished his cereal, placed the bowl into the sink, and rushed out the door into the woods, obviously wanting to keep to himself.


	2. Things are Gonna Change

Huffing, Dipper walked with purpose through the forest, not stopping to observe his surroundings.  He had a general destination in mind- getting as far away from the Shack as possible without getting lost.  The preteen felt the need to make his currently racing mind devoid of any distraction so he could come up with a strategy to catch Great Uncle Ford’s attention as a fellow researcher without any outside help.

_How should I impress a genius?  Finding a new species? The journal probably has all of them, though... Going on a dangerous mission..?  No, that’s dumb. He’s probably seen things worse than what exists in Gravity Falls on the other side of the portal!_

At some point without realizing it, Dipper had sat down on a seemingly unremarkable tree stump.  His thoughts continued racing, though they began to slow down as his eyes became heavy from lack of sleep the night before.  Dipper curled up into a tight ball with a subconscious manner and, with one last thought on making his own major project, fell asleep.

* * *

“…. _PI….EEE…PINE TRE….PINE TREE, WAKEY WAKEY!_ ”

Dipper’s eyes shot open only to observe a… yellow triangle?  Immediately, the preteen screeched and quickly moved away from the offending shape.

“OH MY GOSH!  B-Bill! Never scare me like that again..!   Heck, never even bother me again! You have no business here!”  Dipper asserted with a steely expression.

“PSH, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE, PINE TREE!  LIKE A CIVILIAN WATCHING ME BURN DOWN THEIR HOUSE.. I LOVE IT!” the dream demon expressed with glee in his eye.  “HOWEVER, YOU AND I BOTH KNOW WHY I’M HERE. YOU’VE HAD AN INKLING ON MAKING A DEAL, H͜҉̶̕Ą̡͡V̛̕͞E̡̨͞N͏̢͘͞'̴̡̢T̕͝ ̷̵̴Y͏̴̢͘O̢͘͟Ų̶?̷̕͢!͏̧”

“N-Never!  I would never make the same mistake as I made before.  In fact, I want the opposite of your help- for you to leave. Me.  ALONE!” Dipper yelled while summoning a rock in his mindscape to throw at Bill.   

Bill raised his hands in what he believed to be a placating gesture after watching the rock fall gently to the ground.  “YEESH, KID, I JUST WANT TO MAKE A DEAL! AFTER ALL, HOW COULD YOU EVER EVEN _THINK_ YOU’LL IMPRESS YOUR GREAT UNCLE WITHOUT ANY HELP?  HECK, I’LL EVEN MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU!”

“No!  No is my final answer, no matter what!  I can’t impress Great Uncle Ford with someone else’s help… that’s practically cheating, anyway.  I won’t budge, though!”

“HMM… HM HM HM HM HM HM HMMMM…. FINE, YOU WIN, KID!  YOU’RE STEELY RESOLVE IS TOO MUCH FOR THIS DREAM DEMON.  I’LL GIVE YOU SOME TIME TO LET MY OFFER STEW A BIT, THOUGH… AT NO COST, SINCE-”

“I don’t care!  I already have an entire plan laid out, and it doesn’t include you, you stupid nacho!”  Dipper yelled in an attempt to sound menacing, though he sounded more like an angry puppy.

“WHATEVER YOU SAY, PINE TREE!  JUST DON’T ‘CHEESE’ IT FOR YOURSELF!  TA TA, KID!” Bill said condescendingly before snapping his fingers, cutting off the dream.

* * *

Dipper awoke with a start, sweat trickling down his forehead.

_What was that?  Why did Bill decide to bother him now of all times?_

With a huff of resignation, Dipper glanced up at the sky.  He observed that it was most likely mid-afternoon, so he didn’t have to meander back to the Shack quite yet.

Suddenly, an idea struck the preteen in what felt like a light bulb going off in his head.

“That’s it!  Who needs the Journals when you can document your own information?  Not just one new species- hundreds! And ciphers, solving mysteries… I’ll impress the Author for sure!”  Dipper thought aloud.

_What format should I do this in?  Video? Podcast? Journal? Diary?  So many ideas to choose from..!!_

Grinning, Dipper started off toward town, prepared to go to the local craft store in order to look for his medium of communication for his soon-to-come discoveries.

* * *

Dipper arrived in town after around fifteen minutes of running.  Panting, he stopped to catch his breath and collect himself before walking into the craft store he frequented with his _sister_ when she needed yarn or other _annoying_ craft materials.

_Mabel would probably record her “discoveries” by knitting them into sweaters.. Haha._

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Dipper aimlessly walked around the store, idly glancing around the aisles while waiting for inspiration to strike.  However, while casually perusing the store’s items, he heard two familiar voices.

“Grunkle Ford, have I got the utensils for you!  I know you need pencils for your sketches, but you should _totally_ add these sparkly gel pens to your arsenal.  As I always like to say, ‘One can never ever ever go wrong with glitter!’” Mabel proposed, obvious glee in her voice.

Dipper berated himself.  Of all times to have his mind wander, the one person he wanted to see the least in the world and the person he wanted to surprise just _had_ to make an out-of-the-blue appearance.  Gathering his thoughts, Dipper covered his face with a book detailing the fine art of taxidermy in order to prevent potential conversation.

“You do present a fine argument… alas, I must follow your suggestion!  Does anyone in this dimension still say alas?” Ford joked as he picked up the box set of glitter gel pens in his six-fingered hand.

“Psh, only those weirdos who like Shakespeare or the Renaissance!  Dipper is obsessed with the Renaissance- I catch him reciting Leonardo da Vinci’s journals when he thinks he’s alone!”

“Huh.  The Renaissance?  Interesting..” Ford seemed somewhat uninterested in the conversation’s turn toward Dipper.

Dipper’s face flushed with embarrassment.  Why did Mabel have to mention possibly the weirdest part of his personality to someone he hardly even knew?

Quietly, the preteen traveled down the aisle away from the duo and into an obscure part of the store containing dusty journals.  Dipper spotted a small book with high-quality card-stock pages and a cover that was navy in color.

_Perfect!  I’ll use this to document ciphers that lead to sources detailing my discoveries!  Ford’ll be so impressed!_

On his way to the front of the store, Dipper made sure to grab some extra pens in case of any.. accidental.. breaks.  He purchased the supplies and made his way partially through the doors before being beckoned by a source behind him.

“Dip-Dop!  Diiipppppeeeerrrrr!  Whatcha buyin’? Can I see?”  Mabel questioned persistently, curiosity written all over her face.  Grunkle Ford was awkwardly behind her.

“N-No!  Er- I mean.. It’s just a boring old journal.  Totally nothing suspicious! I have places to be, Mabel.  See you later.. and you too, Great Uncle Ford.”

“Make sure you avoid staying out too late and make sure to keep away from any trouble,” the Author said.  “Mabel and I will be back at the Shack.”

"Doing mysteeeerrrioooousssss portal shenanigans!  See ya, Dippin' Dots!"

Dipper hastily nodded before leaving the store and running off in the direction of the woods, a cloud of hurt following him.  He had to find an empty clearing to designate as his secret thinking-space that even Mabel wouldn't be able to find.


	3. Loneliness and the Emptiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a new POV in this chapter for a little bit! You'll be able to tell where it's at, hopefully. I added in hard rule lines (just discovered them haha) so the page breaks look way cleaner, but that does mean that the POV change is less distinct. We win some, we lose some. :')

Dipper made his way along the worn down roads of Gravity Falls, mind racing on the discoveries he would make and document in his brand new journal. He was already planning his project in glee: What font would he use to write? Cursive, like the Author? Or would he write in his normal scrawl, to hint toward his racing, intellectual thoughts? The possibilities were endless!

At last, Dipper arrived at the edge of the woods. He had only one goal in mind: to find a secret thinking-space. The preteen glanced behind him to make sure his sister wasn’t attempting to snoop in his business and to clarify the secrecy of his project before walking off into the woods to scope out the clearings.

Dipper knew going in to this experience that he could not use the Journal in his investigation, so as to prevent accidentally copying his great uncle or having too obvious a hiding spot. That being the case, he struggled to remember which locations he had visited because of the Journal and which ones were from his own discovery. With a frustrated sigh, the preteen continued deeper into the forest in hopes of finding a location the Author hadn’t documented and hopefully ever seen, though that was likely a stretch.

* * *

At last, he found a spot! Though it was not what he originally had in mind, it worked splendidly for keeping hidden while being organized. The location in question was a hollow surrounded by tall pine trees and had rocks sprinkled along the floor. Plans for hiding his project immediately sprung to mind: He could hide his stuff under the rocks, which would even protect the paper from rain, or he could hide it all in the trees! Dipper made a note to purchase waterproof bags for extra security, this time without stumbling across his sister. He also decided that he would need a small workspace for his longer days here, which he knew he could pilfer from the attic closet Stan hadn’t looked in for countless years. Nodding to himself, Dipper sat down on a slightly damp rock and began documenting the path to his spot in a complicated cipher only he knew.

* * *

Back at the Shack, Mabel was listening to Grunkle Ford tinker with the portal. He had tasked her with organizing certain parts into piles as he provided them to her, since she had mentioned her skill with crafting and having a system: She had made, like, at least 20 sock puppets in three days, which totally proved her talent! However, Mabel was a bit confused by some of the criteria of organization her new grunkle had set forth (“Sort them in piles like this: if they’re part of the frame, if they’re from the middle, if they are small relative to the other pieces, if they are larger in respect to the smaller pieces, and a pile for pieces I specifically say to set aside. Do you understand, my girl?”), and she had therefore messed up a few times, bringing Ford to rearrange her hard work. That, of course, stung a bit, but he always reassured her with a smile and made sure to mention that he was a bit insane with keeping a system, which reminded Mabel of Dipper when he would conduct mystery hunts and investigations of anomalies. 

Mabel almost suggested her twin for the job instead of herself, but she stopped herself guiltily. She was selling herself short! Someone was finally acknowledging her for her different form of intelligence, and she didn’t want to lose the connection she had with her new grunkle. She knew Dipper would understand if she reasoned with him, so she vowed to discuss the topic with him the next time they had a moment alone. She knew she could get him to see her perspective; he was, after all, the most understanding person she knew.

* * *

After a long day of tracing back his steps, Dipper made his way back to the Shack through the forest. Luckily, he had been in the woods enough times to recognize certain landmarks that helped him to arrive at the Shack in around ten minutes through an inconspicuous location he knew no one would question. The preteen opened the door and walked into the gift shop, where he was stopped by Stan.

“Hey, kid, where’ve ya been? It’s been hours!” Stan questioned, raising a suspicious eyebrow at Dipper.

Dipper plastered a grin on his face and explained, “Just exploring, Grunkle Stan! Just like any other day! I heard a rumor about.. a Flybat, a bat the size of a fly! So I asked myself, could it be a fly the size of a bat? I didn’t know, so I wanted to look for it!”

“Hey, that sounds marketable!” Stan declared. “The Shack needs a new exhibit to really draw in those walking wallets- I mean, kind patrons! Didja get a picture of it?”

“Uh.. no, sorry! I didn’t find it, which supports my hypothesis that it’s actually a bat the size of a fly!”

While Dipper was digging a deeper hole for himself, the Author strode into the gift shop from the vending machine, glaring at the merchandise in disdain; however, he perked up at the mention of a hypothesis on a creature of Gravity Falls.

“A Flybat, you say? Interesting! I did not document that anomaly. Could you tell me what you heard about it? Did you see any signs of it?” Ford fired off, looking more and more excited by the second.

“Um.. well, I overheard it in a conversation in town the other day. They said it could be found in the forest in the shadows, so I decided to go investigate. I tried picking up a trail.. but, well, it rained recently, which messed up the investigation. I was planning on going back out again tomorrow!” Dipper fibbed, sweat trickling down his temple. The preteen felt Stan’s eyes on him, scrutinizing his body language and statements.

“Intriguing! Would you be adverse to potentially documenting the Flybat in photographs or in a sketch? This sounds quite interesting, indeed.”

“I-if I come across it again, I’ll be sure to take a polaroid of it!” Dipper assured. “I’m not very good at drawing accurately, so I wouldn’t want to mess up the portrayal of it.”

“Wonderful! I’m looking forward to results, Dipper. Well, back to disassembling the portal with Mabel.”

Ford punched the code into the vending machine and retreated into the basement.

Dipper made a move to retreat from the gift shop, but Stan stopped him before he could escape the confrontation he knew was coming.

“Dipper, I can tell you’re lying from a mile away. I’m not a con for nothin’! Just don’t feel the need to lie to my stuck-up brother, because he should appreciate you for what you’ve actually accomplished, not for meeting his impossibly high standards. I don’t appreciate ya lying to your Grunkle Stan, but I’ll forgive ya just this once. Now, go show my dumb genius brother what you can do, but this time honestly! Now scram, kid.”

Dipper nodded frantically and scampered off to his room, considering Stan’s encouraging talk. He found it ironic that his grunkle wanted him to be more honest, considering the old man’s philosophy of exclusively lying to others, but he shrugged it off before setting up a workspace on his bed to plan out his next investigation, already submitting himself to a long, long night of work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everybody! Also, thank you so so so much for the kudos, comments, and bookmarks! I really appreciate it! :')
> 
> Also, how did you like the POV change? I wanted a short view into what Mabel was thinking to make her perspective better known. I felt biased toward Dip, so I felt the need to justify Mabel's side. I know they're being irrational, but they're preteens: What else would you expect? ;)
> 
> Whose short POV do you want next- Stan, or Ford? The choice is difficult, but I'd like to hear feedback! ;)
> 
> Thanks again, and I'll update soon, since I'm on summer vacation! :)

**Author's Note:**

> I plan on updating this story sometime in the near future. School and life in general are my main focus, but it's definitely not abandoned! Thanks for reading! :)


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